Hello

I just joined because I really need a support group. I'm surrounded by Christianity.

I've been feeling really horrible lately because I can't stand the thought that so many of my friends and members of my family are delusional. I've always internalized this, but I feel it bubbling to the surface. It hurts me to know they feel so free to spread the nonsense, but knowing I can't be as free without being demonized, or at least pitied. But, recently I've been feeling pity for them. Not outwardly, but inside, and I feel it because I look at them clinging to religion, and waiting for Jesus to come back and it's just so pathetic. I don't want to feel this way about basically everyone I know. It's disturbing. I don't even know how to begin dealing with this and these feelings. I love my friends and family. I hate religion. I was brought up to love no one greater than God and Jesus, I literally felt guilty for years because I loved my grandmother more. I'm over that now, I'm 40, I quit going to church when I was 17, but that's how pathetic I was when I was a kid. I look back now and I'm so angry at people for teaching children from birth that this stuff is real. It's a cult. I have teen daughters and I've raised them the way I wished I was raised. With love, compassion, honor, dignity, truthfulness, knowledge, and the total absence of religion.

Not necessarily needing a place to vent (though, I will when something pisses me), not needing to push any agendas (though I may support them), I just really NEED a support system. I can't keep this inside anymore, I can't.

Replies to This Discussion

Thank you for the welcome, it is awesome to talk to freethinkers :) Getting text messages from your mom about your non-relationship with God is pretty much right in your face. Tell her you're a good person because she raised you to be a good person. It sounds like when she thinks of you the first thing that pops into her head is the lack of God. This sucks. You may have to deal with this, one text at a time. Just know this, from her standpoint she loves you soooooooo much.

It sucks because in their minds, they have to try to save you. It's like you're drowning and the God life preserver is right there, they have to throw it. How do we convince them that we float?

Well we may not want to convince them of that. Cause if we float, we weigh the same as ducks, and wood also floats... and everyone knows witches are made of wood, so... therefore we must be..... WITCHES.... BURN!!!!!

The thing I find impossible with this is that according to the Christian, of course it LOOKS like you're doing fine, staying afloat etc. without religion. As long as a Christian falls back on how appearances are deceiving until you die, they think they have a one-up on this regardless of how you feel you're doing.

It's one of the reasons why it's so difficult to even discuss these sorts of things with a religious person. It will always lead into them claiming some unfalsifiable fact beyond all ability to even know. When someone thinks that a non-religious person is under a non-detectable influence, viz. Satan or even god himself, making them non-religious or believe in the "wrong" religion, the conversation is pretty much over before it can even begin. It's sick.

I can't imagine what would happen if I were to constantly go after Christians to get them to stop believing, you know, the way they come after me because I don't believe. Like, "HEY! You're wasting your only life because there isn't an afterlife!!" lol Seriously, get in their face, day in and day out about it. See how they like it. Just sayin', what if.

They wouldn't suffer silently as to not offend me the way I do...that's for damn sure.

Yeah, they rarely think in inverse. Well, the likely response would be how arrogant you are... Which I have been accused of before for merely stating benign opinions, yet stating them confidently. To which this short clip is fitting, from one of the most accused for being arrogant:

I'm not sure it's possible. At least there are people that empathize, give us encouragement, and genuinely care about how we handle these situations even though they have never met, and may never meet us simply based on how we don't believe. LOL.

Better sense of community than I ever got out of church. Pretty awkward eh?

Lesa, I know exactly how you feel being surrounded by Christianity. I won't go into a long story, but it sounds like we have similar pasts with family and friends. Both my immediate and extended family are fundamentalist Christians (some extreme), and because of being in their social circle growing up many of my longest term friends are also fairly religious.

I've gone through a lot of different phases of dealing with this, and I know how you feel, feeling horrible etc. I've also felt very isolated with my family and some friends, because am quite alone when it comes to my family and that circle of friends.

Mainly just wanted to tell you... you aren't alone as you can see from the replies. And many can relate to what you're specifically going through as well.

Well, I'm glad YOU have this place of friends to come to. For years I've been able to physically isolate myself from people, and that has it's own set of problems. But being alone in a group of people is so much worse. I'm so sorry. Religion causes so much pain.

Well hopefully you do too. :-) And hopefully find people around you who you get the chance to talk with and see they don't believe in invisible people in the sky as well. At my last job over time I discovered that my boss was atheist just chatting with him. We had some great discussions. I still talk to him from time to time even though I no longer work with him. And my ex-gf's mother as well. Even though the relationship with my ex-gf is over we (I and her mom) still keep in touch and talk regularly, odd as it may seem for some.